The Hindustan Ambassador is in some ways the ultimate CC, having been built for some sixty years, until just last year. Roger Carr recently gave us the full history of how the 1955 Morris Oxford eventually found its way to India, where it became an institution. And now it seems folks are picking them up and bringing them to new homes, this one in Calgary, Alberta, where CC reader DS23pallas spotted it near his apartment.

The is a Mark 4, which was built from 1979 to 1989. This was the last generation of the Amby to be powered by the original BMC B-Series 1.5 L four, in gas or diesel versions. In 1990, an Isuzu 1.7 L four replaced the venerable B-series engine.

Here’s a view into the driver’s compartment.

It’s nice to see that folks love these enough to ship them home and give them a new life on another continent. We ship our cars to Europe, and bring in one from India. Globalization at work.

Found a road test of a ’96 car that was imported to England. It said this one has Isuzu 86 HP 1.8 5 speed and top speed of 110 MPH. No weight or 0-60 was stated, but if it’s somewhere in the 2500 lb area 12 to 15 second 0-60 times should be no problem. So the later ones are quite a bit faster, but the road test also said they still had 4 wheel drum brakes!

Having been in an Oxford as a kid, it would have been absolutely terrifying at 110 unless the suspension was tightened up to suit the power. Dad cruised his at 55-60. Good guess on the weight BTW; my books say 2548 lbs.

Only the Trabant, as far as I know. There is a federal law banning them from import (I was looking into buying one and importing it). Considering that law is model specific I imagine anything else is fair game.

I’d add the following Latinos as well: VW Transporter, Chevy Opala (Diplomata) IL6 2.8 Litre and 4.1 Litre, Chevy Chevette IL4, Chevy Kadett/Ipanema IL4, Ford Falcon (Rural) IL6, Ford LTD (Galaxie) V8, Fiat 128 Europa and Super Europa, Fiat 125 Mirafiori, IKA~Renault Torino IL6, Peugeot 504, Ford Taunus Coupé 2.3 Lit. V6, Aymesa Condor, etc… If wanting to buy and import any of these…you could be surprised. All of these models in fair or excellent condition can cost… More because all of these became cult cars for their own reasons in their own environments/countries… These aren’t “only cars”. These are representing heritages…

A nice, simple, little design. I think I’d “update” this car with a mildly modded 1.8 “B” with, perhaps, twin carbs. Unfortunately, that would probably result in a car that had too much power for it’s brakes and/or suspension.

That said, if I was going to buy a borderline frumpy British sedan, I’d look for a British Ford before spending money for this….unless it was a screaming deal.

For a 1950s British car the wheels are set at a pretty wide track relative to the body width, but as this was the direct descendant of the 1948 MO, the ‘big brother’ of Issigonis’s Morris Minor that’s not surprising. Its Austin-based ‘Farina’ replacement was probably a step back in that respect.

A high school classmate of mine in the early 1980’s was born in India, but his family came to the States when he was very young. As a result, he spoke and sounded like your average high school smart aleck from the American Midwest.

His family was pretty well off, and they traveled back to India most summers. He talked about the Hindustan Ambassador in the most derogatory of terms, he just hated it.

I thought it was pretty cool, like a stillborn American compact from 1950 that was magically in production in 1982.

It makes me wonder who would import one of these. From my anecdotal knowledge, the average Indian ex-pat would tell you these were part of the reason they left India.

I’ve been driven more miles than I care to mention in these and they are slow, uncomfortable, unreliable (even with an Isuzu engine), have shocking brakes but are utterly charming and India will be a worse place when they all die off. When they break down, any roadside mechanic can fix them, so if I had to travel in a 10 year old plus vehicle slightly off the beaten track in India it would be one of these. My in-laws were mortified when I turned down a Mercedes, an elephant or a horse as the mode of transport to bring me to my wedding and insisted on an Amby. Eventually an uncle was found to have one as his official car and after a good wash and some minor panel beating it was pressed into service. Our British and American friends loved it but there were a lot of puzzled Indians. I’m not an expert but if the pictured car is a mk 4 it’s probably from the 80s with the B series engine, but some of the features look to be from an earlier car (lots have been updated in some way). The registration is probably from Rajasthan and again would date the car to pre 1985ish when the numbering system changed.

Finally a write up of the classic Ambassador of India. This is the Ford Crown Victoria of India as there are plenty and used for taxis, diplomatic government vehicles, or just for traditional ride use. It’s their version of how we see the GM B-body or Panther platform. My father in law owns one and want to import it after he stops using it. Yes its funny and looks like a 50s car length shortened.

I drove across Rajistan as a passenger in one of these in the mid 1990’s. The car was quite comfortable for us 4 westerners plus a local driver. Not very fast but fine for the roads there. It was pretty good at soaking up potholes and dodging camel carts and the big busses that kept trying to run us off the road. It sure beat the local busses and 2nd class trains I also took on that trip. I think at the time you could buy a new one for around $4000. The only vehicle I had more seat time on that trip was an enfield 350 bullet motorcycle it was marginally faster but had even less safety features if you were unfortunate enough to have a crash.

I’ve spotted a few Enfield motorcycles here in Toronto, and an Indian restaurant near us has an old Bajaj trike out front. With our large Indian community it’s only a matter of time before one of these shows up. All good. I always like to see something different on the road.

What great luck to spot one in Canada. For this to be the Indian national car is so appropriate. That it’s British based is reflective of the colonial heritage and British contributions to Indian progress. This is a car that is now Indian to the core, wherever this part or that started out.

I can picture Indian civic and government leaders riding in these as the plotted out the development needed to turn 1 billion plus people into a cohesive nation of many religions and ethnicities. It has been quite a journey and this car will forever be a part of that memory.

I don’t know if the next Indian national car will spring up locally or something Suzuki or Datsun plan for India. Either way, it will have big shoes to fill.

In the meantime poor Hindustan Motors went down. Or not? I am reading different confusing local hindi and worldwide articles like “…will IT survive or not…”. If this “New Retro Ambassador” would appear, it could be almost equal to the new Mini, New Beetle and some few other successful new retromobiles. The new 2014-2015 Fiat 500 for example with its heritage from the late ’50’s and early ’60’s design solutions is also an absolute killer…by sold numbers throughout Europe. And these aren’t cheap cars as well…like as folkcars they were decades ago. The retro design concept combined with the 21st century technology could push it to the new levels. But…that’s more like a financial question…

I remember riding in one of these cars around 1991. It recently reminded me of the Checkers cab due to the long production run. I’m also curious to find out about the connection between the owner and the car above.